(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to controlling outside lighting, and more particularly, to automatically controlling the timing of outside lighting based on the physical location of the lighting.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It is desired to automatically control turning on and off outside lighting. One current practice is to use a photocell to sense ambient lighting from the sun, turn on the lighting when the sunlight is below a certain level, and turn off the lighting when the sunlight is above a certain level. This method may leave lights on longer than necessary before turning them off in the morning. Another current practice is to use a timer set to turn on the lights at the particular time and turn them off at a second particular time. As the days progress and sunrise and sunset times change, the timer must be reset frequently. Another possible method is to use an astronomic time clock to control the timing of the lighting. It is necessary to correctly set an astronomic clock.
Outside lighting control is addressed in a variety of patents. U.S. Patent Application 2010/0030389 (Palmer et al) discloses personal computer control of automatic irrigation and lighting systems. A lighting zone can be set in accordance with sunrise and sunset times. Given the location, a forecasting site provides sunrise and sunset data at preset intervals. This requires an active connection to the Internet. The schedule can be transmitted by email.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,847,706 (Ross et al) shows a lighting control unit using location to calculate sunrise and sunset times. This method requires frequent communication with a wireless network.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,571,063 (Howell et al) teaches lighting control and performance monitoring. For example, lights can be turned off or dimmed at an earlier hour on Sunday when a store closes earlier than other days. This method depends on setting a timer for particular on and off times.
U.S. Patent Application 2009/0322253 (Buelow II et al) teaches that a command system schedules changes in mode of a LED lighting system based on input from the atomic time clock.